Google and Facebook Launch New Ad Formats

Both Google and Facebook are taking advantage of Advertising Week to announce new ad formats that it hopes will increase engagement between consumers and brands.

In a blog post yesterday, Google’s vp of product management, Nick Fox, said that almost a third of the search engine’s advertisers are now using enhanced ad formats—like Media Ads, which put video into search ads; Location Extensions, which attach a business address; or Product Ads, which display an image, price, and merchant name (and which people are twice as likely to click on than a standard text ad in the same location). Google also has a new dedicated website and video series to promote its enhanced ads, in which it claims, "Maybe the best ads are just answers."

Now, the company is planning to introduce yet another enhanced ad format during an Advertising Week presentation. According to Bloomberg, Google is launching Web-based circular ads that will “make Internet advertising look more like the Sunday paper.”

When users click on the new ads, they’ll display multiple pictures and large type, just like the ads in a newspaper. So far, companies like Macy’s and Best Buy have signed on for the Web circulars, which will be available starting today.

Facebook is also planning to announce its own new crop of “expandable” ads, Mashable reported. The ads, which are based on the idea that ads recommended by friends are more effective than standard display ads, will expand if a user’s friend “liked” that brand, allowing the user to comment on the ad and see other comments related to it. Unlike Sponsored Stories, which only shows a friend’s interaction with the brand, the expandable ads will contain an advertiser message and won’t appear in a user’s News Feed.

Both Google and Facebook are taking advantage of Advertising Week to announce new ad formats that it hopes will increase engagement between consumers and brands.

In a blog post yesterday, Google’s vp of product management, Nick Fox, said that almost a third of the search engine’s advertisers are now using enhanced ad formats—like Media Ads, which put video into search ads; Location Extensions, which attach a business address; or Product Ads, which display an image, price, and merchant name (and which people are twice as likely to click on than a standard text ad in the same location). Google also has a new dedicated website and video series to promote its enhanced ads, in which it claims, "Maybe the best ads are just answers."

Now, the company is planning to introduce yet another enhanced ad format during an Advertising Week presentation. According to Bloomberg, Google is launching Web-based circular ads that will “make Internet advertising look more like the Sunday paper.”

When users click on the new ads, they’ll display multiple pictures and large type, just like the ads in a newspaper. So far, companies like Macy’s and Best Buy have signed on for the Web circulars, which will be available starting today.

Facebook is also planning to announce its own new crop of “expandable” ads, Mashable reported. The ads, which are based on the idea that ads recommended by friends are more effective than standard display ads, will expand if a user’s friend “liked” that brand, allowing the user to comment on the ad and see other comments related to it. Unlike Sponsored Stories, which only shows a friend’s interaction with the brand, the expandable ads will contain an advertiser message and won’t appear in a user’s News Feed.